Temples Pt1
by FloraoftheRift
Summary: Set in an alternate timeline, sometime in the future, the inter-species duo Keith and Natani are subsequently attacked by beings far more ancient and dangerous than they've ever imagined. will this be the end of the road for the traveling companions? or are these Golem-like beings more than just predators?
Temples

…And the rustle of leaf litter gave away his passage, a sharp crackle among the army of flora that this sound called home.

Occasionally a bird call would break through the leaf call. Echoes of things yet discovered flowed through the branches of ancient trees, undisturbed and clear. The rumble of a stream added to this natural medley, carving a path unbroken through the wilderness. Silence had a different meaning in the Forestlands of the Keidran. It meant the coldness and stillness of death, an empty space not unlike the void of night. Silence, until recently, held no power in these parts

Death, in its very essence, was hearing the sound of Keith's panicked breath as he kept a near sprint up in this very forest.

He was scared, far more scared than he'd ever been before in his life. His chest ached for oxygen, just as his waist ached for treatment. He felt his blood trickle from a tear in his stomach. It trailed through his shirt, into his fur, down his tights and through his boots. It was a bad wound; but care he did not. They had taken him. Left him with the dead, the slaughtered and butchered wolf folk he came to know for only a brief time.

What in the king's name were those things?

Keith's mind was ablaze with thought, pounding with fresh adrenaline. What was to become of Natani? The things came swift so he couldn't remember exactly when they set upon his friend. He only knew that the trail he took was taken recently. Blood was set into the series of tracks he already traveled. They had to have come this way.

His instincts were confirmed with his approach of an unfortunate victim. He slowed to look at the cadaver, appearing mutilated beyond anything Keith dared study, he felt himself start to retch at the sight of the dead wolf folk's innards splayed out at awkward angles, the final look of horror burned into his skull. _'Best to move on,'_ he thought feeling his bile turn his stomach through. Another stabbing bout of pain forced him to retake his pace.

He passed a stone, taller than him at around eight feet. It seemed inconspicuous until he encountered another.

And another, he paid little heed. _Fuck_ , his side was killing him, probably in multiple respects.

And another, a bit more attention to this one, looking almost statuesque, juxtaposed with others down the forest path, which had grown larger and less cluttered at some point.

His pace quickly over took this stone lattice, either smashed remnants of a pathway, or just the world warping to the Basitin's presence. They grew in number, growing larger and more detailed as he ran past each set. They became personalized pillars, and the pillars became walls.

The walls became the only way of passage, ending with a gateway to… a fortress. Or that's what it seemed to be, in Keith's' eyes, fortress or temple, or sanctuary. The latter least likely with a smell of decay permeating the air rather unnaturally. Trees bent away from the structure, the very earth seemingly giving way to its being. Stone slabs made it stand tall, taller than the greatest of templar towers. Mist held fast to the stone building, with architecture appearing suspiciously alien to Keith. The Keidran had no tools to make such a perfect face, the seams hardly visible until Keith got closer.

Yet another dead wolf caught his attention for a bit, this one missing a large amount of its neck, white fur as caked with blood as the dirt beneath it. The female's breasts were matted with her very own blood, along with her waist. It seemed almost too much for a single person. There was a distinct horror in the way that one's eyes looked, almost seeming to pop out of their sockets. Keith briefly imagined the Wolf girl panicking at her removed throat, seeing her own life flow-

The imagery proved too much for Keith. He collapsed to his knees and vomited up a good amount of his apprehension, not necessarily feeling better from it.

He took a minute to steady himself, prodding the sensitive area on his waist. It still bled, though not as vigorously as before. Perhaps the adrenaline was doing its job a bit too well. He still shivered with both convulsions from his fit of nausea, as well as that survival-mode feeling one gets when they're scared shitless.

Indeed Keith feared for a lot of reasons, especially for his not-so-female friend. He meant a lot to him, even more, now that he thought about it. All he wanted was a hug from the tall wolf.

This day was going wrong in so many ways. And these monsters were going to pay, if he saw another. Out of his sheath came his sword, no more being scared.

"NATANI I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Keith shouted at the Entrance, feeling his voice crack mid sentence.

He got two replies; one was a rather feminine cry, faintly from inside the structure.

The other was a much louder one, a few octaves higher than the prior one. Keith had about a second to react before he saw his first aggressor leap out of the opening and into the air. A similar model to the monsters he saw earlier.

Compact and chitinous, it slammed down towards the earth and bull rushed Keith, a large sharp bladed arm outstretched with malicious intent. It looked as if made from stone, formed into organic shape, but otherwise hardened from war. The monster's face held no expression, and only imitated a face to begin with, possibly only there for intimidation and without a use otherwise. Still, the golem-like figure stared at him as it closed the gap on digitigrade legs,

Up went Keith's sword, meeting a hurricane of relentless slashes and stabs. The blows were weak and inaccurate, and He smiled with confidence. Ears propped back, he countered the next onslaught with a parry and a quick pommel jab. The beast lost its momentum and staggered back, long enough for Keith to whip his blade around and quickly remove its head from its shoulders, feeling his victory at hand.

It staggered yet again, but bleed it did not, and die it refused. Instead it jerked its arms and sprouted two more, with smaller pointed blades, the head apparently only for show. With renewed vigor it charged Keith, who backed away almost as fast.

Keith's practices were being put to use with blocking the increased rate of strikes toward his torso, occasionally countering with a jab to back the monster up. His blade did very little damage to its hide, but exposed fleshes at the joints were far weaker. Little by little Keith slashed the arms away and apart, leaving a standing torso to sink to the ground in apparent defeat.

He circled the mutilated being, looking for any other signs of weakness. It struggled to get back up, falling to its side when it lost balance. It chattered still, making noise from an unknown origin point on its dismembered body. Looking to its backside, he saw what a hollow, giving light to a plant. A glasslike material protected it from the outside air. The monster was essentially hollow, except for the plant, leaves perfectly suspended in an ideal environment, one that Keith violated with swift strike through the flesh like glass. The leaves were severed and the monster, err, golem, jerked once then fell to the dirt, dead in the finest sense.

Keith admired his work once more and turned face, moving towards the gateway. He felt vertigo set in as he dropped to one knee, feeling lightheaded. Looking down he saw his clothes soaked through with red, painless otherwise. He knew it was bad; his head swam with threats of unconsciousness. Keith felt himself choke up at the misery of his situation. Wiping way what would have been tears, he steadied himself with his own blade, limping into the temple. He'd find Natani, even if it meant dying for him.

The smell of decay lingered in the slight decent through the gateway, into the dimly lit passage it led into. Keith took time to look at the unique architecture, noting how geometric it was. The lighting came from a floor level stream of fluid, glowing eerily yellow. He stopped to dip a paw in the liquid and found it to be both viscous and warm. It was an odd material, unlike anything Keith had encountered. Was it some sort of fuel source for the golem-plant-monsters that seemed intent on removing him and his love from existence?

He wiped his paw on his cloak and went forward, taking time to keep a wary eye, and a sturdy foothold, in case the very earth turn against him.

Deeper and deeper he went, the tunnel growing darker until, the only light came from the stream of goo, or nectar, as Keith thought. After some time the floor leveled out and he came to a large cavern, filled with glowing light. A pool of the yellow-orange liquid rested here, platforms separated by a couple meters.

A few more corpses lay here in bits and pieces, some were obviously Keidran, and others were natural wildlife. Deer, bears, mammalian carcasses of various sizes lay strewn throughout the cavern and even in the pool, not quite staining it red. It made Keith Cringe a bit.

There was another one those wretched Golems as well, standing straight, not moving in the slightest. It looked right at Keith, faceless gaze unwavering. It stood a few feet taller than the last one, thinner and armless in general.

Keith took a step forward and the being shuddered. The pool of liquid shimmered with it. Another step brought another set of vibrations. He paused, sword outstretched.

"…Where is Natani?" Keith managed to stammer out to the lonely Golem. "Where did you take him?"

...the golem, in its actuality, was a statue, not moving in the least as Keith's blade descended upon it. Fear kept him from using logic at this point, even as his normally sharp great sword painfully recoiled in his grasp. Eyes wide, Keith took a step back, letting the realization set in.

His fear molded into undirected frustration, Keith turned face behind him with an aggressive cringe; waiting for what he thought was an ambush.

"You think this is Funny?! Bring it on already!" he shouted to the cold decaying cavern. The dead did hear him. In the distance, the sounds of a scream, but otherwise his cry was unheeded.

Nothing came, however, and as his heartbeat settled he noticed something he didn't before. There was a slight breeze, the slightest of sounds. It originated to his left, from the only other opening in the cavern, unlighted and gaping with an overt honesty. And to be even more suspicious, the statue gazed away from this opening, facing the entrance with its body. He recognized it as a waypoint, and not the fearful apparitions that plagued him.

A deep sigh and Keith Strode over a glowing stream, and a mutilated buck, on his way to the opening.

' _Your tenacity is amusing...'_

The whisper caught Keith unawares, but had him spinning around once again to face the voice's owner. The statue remained in its pose, but he was still suspicious.

 _'Don't mind the Ssssentinel, we are only there to watch.'_

"Show yourself! I will not be played with!" Keith shouted to the disembodied voice.

 _'This is not play. We do not know of thisssss play.'_

Keith found himself Growling, lashing his tail in an aggressive manner. His emotions were getting the better of him, stressed as he was.

A slight breeze came from his flank, and from Keith's peripherals he saw an approaching figure.

He thought to lash out with abandon, but stood there. He felt his heart pound within him, begging him for action. He remained still, petrified as a small but strong hand grasped his jaw. It pulled him slightly, turning him to face the golem.

This one was feminine, and very candid in appearance. Geometrically sound besides its organically female build, naked in the simplest sense, yet completely comfortable to stand next to because of its inorganic appearance. Its head had a muzzle, but was blank otherwise, devoid of eyes, a nose, or mouth. It held his face, so tenderly, as Natani would have. It was so close to his own muzzle they could kiss.

The glass hollow was located in between its hints of female anatomy, where a heart would've been. Keith swore he could see a flower sitting inside it.

Another whisper, a little louder, but for proximity.

 _'Having fun, furred one?'_

"WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM," Keith had growled, but it came out as a whimper.

 _'Him, her. We cannot tell what she is. He is broken. She is not complete anymore.'_

Rage took Keith's resolve over and he grabbed at the Golem, who gracefully dodged the action. He responded with a swing of his blade, and the female golem responded by swatting the blade. The strength required to deflect such a blow both shocked and scared him to the core.

Defeat brought Keith to his knees. Tears welled to his eyes.

"Please..." He began, keeping his composure in somewhat- order.

 _'Please what?'_ It returned, cocking a head in an innocent way.

"Let us leave, we- We have done nothing to you," he looked away from the beast. "I just-"

 _'We think you two are an odd couple'_

"Who is WE? What the fuck are you things?" If the thing was sneering, Keith couldn't tell.

 _'We. Us. We are they. They who hunt your companions, we are engineers of the changing path.'_ It knelt down, apparently at ease with Keith. _'We are the walkers from below, but we wish to see the sky sometimes. The ssssky. Burnssss sometimes. We have to make ourselves stronger. That is why they hunt. They, us.'_

 _'You.'_

"None of that explains anything," Keith said with confusion.

 _'Explaining is for the weak. You are strong, the broken one is strong. She, he is very strong.'_ It got up and absent-mindedly brushed the dust off its unclothed loins. _'Find out,'_ it turned away and went towards the descending opening.

 _'Two things furred one. Follow us to your mate. We will give you... a test, more to be asked when we get there.'_

"And the other?"

It paused, seeming to be caught in thought. It raised a hand, but let it drop. _'This is not our first language. Takes many hosts to make the ssssspeaking tongue.'_ It chittered a bit and continued its path.

Without another way, Keith followed.

Time passed in silence as he kept pace with the golem. No words were exchanged, and that made him uneasy. He had his sword sheathed, but kept a hand on the hilt, in case he was ambushed. It would've been a futile action, but it calmed him. Remaining calm was key, in such an environment.

They passed a number of remains, belonging o multiple species. Some were Keidran, but most were just local wildlife, he assumed. Why would they just keep them out like that?

He related his query to the golem, who had stopped to pick at a large cat, possibly a panther?

 _'The air is dry down here. Filtered to keep the small plagues from tainting them. They are hostssss.'_

"Hosts?"

 _'Those who fall to make ourselves ever so perfect. They all had chance to leave and failed. They are inferior to ussss.'_

A disturbing thought occurred to Keith. "Is Natani a potential host?"

It paused from its picking, and turned to gaze up at Keith. In the darkness it looked all the more intimidating, yet something held him in awe of the complete alien qualities the golem had. The plant inside its head illuminated the walls, giving it a slight green aura that radiated outward.

 _'He, she isss as ssssstrong as you. The sentinel tells me the female is conscious now but unwilling to cooperate. That is why you come. Assure it will be okay, should you passsss your test.'_ It got up once more and started at a quicker pace. Cocking its head as if to eye Keith with non-functional peripherals, it added, _'your material is a welcome sssight among our kin.'_

The passage they traveled through had the same fluid he saw at the cavern; although it seemed to glow a little more aggressively the farther they went. Keith could see a light towards the end as well. The light of sunlight beyond the trees. It would have been a welcome sight had Keith remained ignorant to the panicked yelling coming from the same direction.

The sound of Natani.

Keith was already in an all out sprint with his blade in hand, leaving the golem behind him, the entrance was close as were the feminine screams of his friend. He felt a vile rage at the sounds of him struggling. Test or not, things were going to die.

Into the lit room he went, skidding to a halt to behold what was in front of him. The room was illuminated by sunlight, coming from high up. The middle of the room had a fairly large tree stump in the middle, around fifteen meters wide, where Natani knelt, chained to it by vines. A few other golems milled about, and other still inspected their captive casually.

Natani had a dreaded look in His eyes; he growled and struggled against the vines, snapping at any of the golems who came close. He had started to dip into his more feral side, and that scared Keith In a way these golems could not have.

He leaped up onto the stump, shoving one of the beasts in the process. The thing hissed at him, apparently as a challenge. Keith took no time in drawing his blade and quickly slashing the offended golem in twain, severing its plant nerve. It dropped to the ground, dying in a slow gasp. He kicked the twitching heap of stone and sinew and sheathed his blade.

The other golems also hissed at him, some even screeched a bit, but they all remained where they were as Keith went over to his feral companion.

Natani snapped at him as soon as he was close, growling with an unrecognizably feminine tone. His clothes were torn in multiple places the cloak basically in shreds. His breasts would have been showing were they not bound by the cloth, which also showed signs of wear. Strong legs kept him standing; arms bound on each side, dark brown-almost red- fur hinted at strong muscles that could hold their weight, and then some. Darker hair drooped down the wolf girl's shoulders in an unkempt manner, somewhat concealing the necklace that stored Mana for his spells. No blood or cuts were visible, which was good.

At least one of them was in good condition. Keith felt dizzy at moments but otherwise was unaffected by his grisly wound. Such was the tenacity of Basitin warriors.

Despite the aggressive attitude directed toward him, by EVERYONE in the room, Keith knelt down and embraced his friend. It was good to hold him in his arms again, feel the warmth of someone who meant so dear to him. He squeezed the larger wolf the slightest bit to feel him even closer. It was an odd time to address what he felt for Natani, as odd as their relationship was.

Matter it did not, he couldn't stand losing him. If this was love, then he loved him; no one could deny that.

The other witnesses to this remained quiet. The feminine golem was among them.

In time, the growling stopped, and the shivering started. That did the trick. "Keith…" was all that Natani could muster himself to say.

Choked up himself, Keith replied in kind with "I'm here, Natani."

The feminine golem hopped onto the tree stump and stood next to the couple. Keith relinquished his embrace to stand up and face the beast.

A brief pause, then _'as we have promisssed'_

"Could you remove his bonds?" Keith asked, motioning to the restraints which held Natani in place.

 _'Temporarily. We will have to move her away from thisss.'_ It waved awkwardly at the tree stump. ' _Your test will take place here.'_

As the golem spoke, more and more golems of various sizes and forms began entering the room, from the ceiling, the three other doorways, even small golems would originate from small holes in the walls. They were completely surrounded, hundreds upon hundreds of stone-like bipeds, all looking completely unique.

Natani's eyes grew wide with horror, and Keith took time to Glare at each and every one of them. The adjacent golem played with its claws.

'As _part of the tessssst we will require,'_ it pointed to Natani ' _some of her blood.'_

"What did you agree on, Keith?!" Natani asked, fear in his eyes. The golem turned to face him.

 _'The Furred one has agreed to a trial by combat, in order to determine your eligibility to leave our temple.'_ It waved once more to the stump, to the crowd of golems below. _'It is simple. Stay on this platform through three combat exercises and you pass. We promise to respect the leave of you two._

 _'Of course if you fail then you give yourself to our kin. We will be sure to make sure your material is used properly.'_

Keith felt somewhat glad that it was such a simple proposition, although an odd request to begin with. He imagined large grotesque beasts crushing him underfoot and cringed. That would be painful. He then imagined the golems tearing Natani apart, because he failed.

He smirked. That will never happen. At least he hoped not.

"Thanks to your friends, I've already lost a lot. I'm sure a little more from me will suffice." He motioned to the soaked part of his clothing. The golem did not look.

 _'That will be amended, prior to the fight. We ask for her blood as tribute to the all-kin. It is tradition.'_ It did not wait for Keith's response.

A crack split the golem's head apart, and its plant nerve was revealed. It was a lotus. The golem took its claw and made quick slash along Natani's collarbone, making the female wolf yelp in pain. Blood began flowing from the clean incision, into the outstretched hands of the golem. It welled in its cupped hands, bright crimson against the pale brown of the golem's skin. It retracted when its makeshift cup was half full, letting the cut continue to spill blood.

At that same moment the stony vines vanished from Natani's arms, and he clapped a hand to the wound backing away from the golem to stand next to Keith.

Red liquid dripping from its hands, it raised them up, causing a roar of hissing and screeching from the alien crowd. The feminine golem topped the plethora of noise with an earsplitting cry. Keith held his paws to his ears in reaction.

The blood began to pour into the exposed hollow of the golem's head, soaking the plant and staining the inside red. The golem's body Shuddered at the union. It twitched and whirred with unnatural movements, until the blood emptied, leaving its hands red with life.

Another cry from the golem and another leaped onto the stage, bristling with spikes on its back. It had amour, from Keith's perspective, on every where besides its lower gut, where the glass hollow was located. The other's head sealed itself, now appearing quite messy. It glowed with an orange light, stepping towards Keith with an outstretched hand. Unmoving, he let it grasp his waist, feeling the contact grow hot and uncomfortable within seconds.

' _The pain is temporary, warrior.'_ Was all the assurance he got from the beast as the hot feeling began to burn, the sensation a result of his muscles reknitting themselves , of blood being regenerate and of skin layers being rejoined. Keith wanted to scream but couldn't; he found no breath to scream. He looked at Natani with a pained expression, and she moved to interfere.

A large viney spike impaled the wood in between her feet, as if by warning and Keith despaired a little.

In time the pain subsided and he felt whole again. As a last touch, the golem pressed a line of blood down the bridge of his nose, making him flinch, the being chittered all the while.

In a much more aggressive tone than before it shouted to Keith _'READY YOUR ARMSSSSS FURRED ONE'_ who promptly replied. His sword became unsheathed and readied. The golem opposite to him bristling its clawed arms, hissing a challenge.

The feminine golem led Natani off the stump and Keith sprung into battle, his adversary charging him all the same.

They met in the middle, the golem wildly slashing at Keith's torso, blows deflected by bracer and blade alike. Keith did not think these beings tired like he did, so he went back on the attack, swiping at the beasts head in a feint. It held arms up to catch the blow, but instead caught a blow in the stomach by Keith's boot.

It stumbled back, and twisted as Keith's jab came soaring in, halting the blade in the crook of its shoulder. Keith briefly let his sword go to lash out at the beast, and connected with a palm blow. The sword dropped a bit, and Keith grasped it once more, tearing it out of the golem's grasp, and severing most of its arm in the process.

The golem hopped back and jerked a bit, the quills shuddering. With unknown devices it folded its head and shoulders together, concealing its weak point. Two more cracks and the beast's backside cracked in three, two more arms sprouting from it. The quills now were positioned all around the golem's front.

Keith felt disgusted after watching the spectacle. He readied the blade and waited.

With a roar, it charged him directly, leaping into the air in pounce. Keith chose not to move until the last second, jumping away as the beast landed where he was with a violent punch. Its arm dug into the wood, and unfortunately kept the beast pinned. It began to struggle as Keith nonchalantly strode up and looked around for a joint to exploit.

He found one just behind the golem's head and stabbed his blade down. The beast jerked a bit and chittered as it struggled to escape. It was too late. With a mighty heave Keith pried the golem's form apart in such an awkward way that it split open, revealing the beast's plant nerve, along with a good amount of its other organs. Like the others he fought, it did not bleed, even as Keith reached into the broken golem and tore the plant out. It died almost instantly.

The crowd of golems hissed and cried out, without any real directed malice. The feminine golem leaped back up and kicked the other down into the crowd, who began to tear it limb from limb.

 _'Two more to go.'_ It said flatly above the uproar. Keith looked for Natani, but couldn't see him. His next challenger leaped onto the platform. Keith glanced at it briefly, and then did a double take.

 _'The blood has a usssse, warrior._

Keith was horrified. Minus a few minute details like a blade for a left arm, and a glass hollow towards the lower stomach, it looked normal. Orange orbs of light were the doppelganger's eyes, and fangs made up its sneer.

Brown-almost red fur covered it everywhere else. Its dark brown hair brought back in a ponytail. The fur hinted at a familiar build, one he grew to love.

The golem looked just like Natani


End file.
